Breast cancer is the most common non-skin related malignancy in women living in GCC countries, according to reports from the US National Library of Medicine.

A 2018 report also identified that Arab patients with breast cancer showed advanced stages of malignancy at the time of diagnosis and at younger ages, compared to women in Western countries.

Dr. Houriya Kazim

Dr. Houriya Kazim, the first Emirati female surgeon, is leading a research team analysing the DNA of tumours from 57 women in the UAE.

Dr. Kazim expalins that whilst in North America and Western Europe, the median age for breast cancer is 62-years-old, in the Middle East, North Africa and Indian subcontinent the disease affects in average women in their mid-40’s.

“It’s a big deal and we still don’t know why,” she states.

Via her reasearch, Dr. Kazim hopes to one day provide younger Arab women with an answer.